Leaked Lost Document Reveals They Had No Plan for an Ending

Does it make you feel any better than the creators of Lost never had any intention of telling you what the hell was up with that random polar bear? Probably not: "No — we're not gonna tell where that polar bear came from, but we're all about answering the rest." The rest? Really? A recently leaked document from the show's beginnings reveals an entire structured layout for the show's start, middle and end. According to Damon Lindelof, the document is actually what the network wanted, and what they struggled against. /Film explains, having spoken to Lost's creator about it all: "This document outlines the version of Lost the network wanted, but one that Lindelof and J.J. Abrams didn’t." Basically: "ABC picked up the show, which never would have happened without this document. However, once those writers got to writing the actual series, many of these ideas got thrown away."

But, wait! What about the polar bear? Obviously a few of these outlined details did make the final cut, and it's fascinating to see what ABC imagined their golden child Lost was going to be:

True to our commitment to provide rational, real-world explanations for the seemingly bizarre, our castaways will make a series of discoveries in the first few episodes that indicate the "monster" may indeed have man-made origins which offers a variety of possible explanations illuminating its true nature. Perhaps the result of the experiments performed by the island's past inhabitants or simply a small part within an elaborate security system designed to protect yet undiscovered facilities, the beast is almost as scary when it's NOT there.

Smoke. Monster.

Our idea is to build a jungle inside a soundstage. And in this patch of jungle, our characters will begin to build their own "mini" sets. Call it a primitive "Melrose Place."

Melrose. Place.

Our mandate is to give LOST the same treatment as a Michael Crichton novel. Every time we introduce an element of the fantastic, we approach it from a real place. If we do it right, the "paranormal" will always be coupled with a logical explanation to remind the audience that this is the real world.

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